Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-jkksz Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-27T02:38:23.841Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Habitat use by marine tucuxis (Sotalia guianensis) (Cetacea: Delphinidae) in Guanabara Bay, south-eastern Brazil

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 February 2007

Alexandre F. Azevedo ,
Alvaro M. Oliveira ,
Simone C. Viana  and
Monique Van Sluys
Alexandre F. Azevedo
Affiliation:
PPGB/IBRAG, Departamento de Ecologia, Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro, Rua São Francisco Xavier 524, Maracanã, Rio de Janeiro, 20550-013, Brazil Laboratório de Mamíferos Aquáticos (MAQUA), Departamento de Oceanografia, Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Alvaro M. Oliveira
Affiliation:
Laboratório de Mamíferos Aquáticos (MAQUA), Departamento de Oceanografia, Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Simone C. Viana
Affiliation:
Laboratório de Mamíferos Aquáticos (MAQUA), Departamento de Oceanografia, Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Monique Van Sluys
Affiliation:
PPGB/IBRAG, Departamento de Ecologia, Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro, Rua São Francisco Xavier 524, Maracanã, Rio de Janeiro, 20550-013, Brazil
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Data on habitat use by marine tucuxis (Sotalia guianensis) were collected in Guanabara Bay (GB), south-eastern Brazil, over a two-year period. Diurnal activities of marine tucuxis were dominated by behaviour related to feeding/foraging (58% of all recorded time). Dolphins spent more time in feeding/foraging activities in the morning with a secondary peak in late afternoon. Dolphins were seen in waters of 2 to 35 m (11.63±6.05; median=12.0). Depths used by S. guianensis groups significantly differed from depths available in GB (Kolmogorov–Smirnov test; Z=5.72; P<0.001). Most groups (69.8%) were sighted in depths between 5.1 and 15.0 m. Dolphins occupied an area of 136.9 km2, which represents about 42% of the entire water surface of GB. Individuals selected areas within GB and avoided the most degraded ones, which suggests that habitat degradation may affect S. guianensis distribution. Diurnal distances travelled by individuals ranged from 3.3 to 27.2 km in a same day. Dolphins found in main channel and adjacent waters moved along the north–south axis of GB throughout the day and covered distances three times greater than dolphins which concentrated their activities in north-eastern areas.

Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom , Volume 87 , Issue 1 , February 2007 , pp. 201 - 205
Copyright
2007 Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)